Ian Wright told Premier League Productions (28/02/21 at 11:50 am) that Arsenal fans will be bothered about Gabriel Martinelli’s lack of game time.
The highly-rated speedster was left on Arsenal’s bench once again on Sunday despite Mikel Arteta making changes for his side’s win at Leicester.
What’s even more worrying for the teenager is that Arteta isn’t even bringing him off the bench, which indicates where he is at in the long list of attacking players at Arsenal’s disposal.
Before Arsenal’s win at the King Power yesterday, Wright touched upon Martinelli being benched and Nicolas Pepe and Willian playing in front of him.
“Unfortunately for Willian since he’s come,” said Wright. “We saw an assist the other day since Fulham. You want to see more out of Willian.
“You want to see more out of Pepe because I think Arsenal fans will now be thinking what’s happening with Gabriel Martinelli. They want to see him playing because they know what a talent he is.
“So if you are going to play these guys in front of these players, in front of players like him, then they have to turn up. They have to contribute.
“That is what will bother the Arsenal fans more than anything else.”
Arteta’s decision to select Pepe and Willian was justified yesterday because the latter assisted and the former got on the scoresheet.
Added with that, Willian also made the difference for Arsenal when he came off the bench during their late win against Benfica in the Europa League.
The key thing is that Arsenal need to be patient with Martinelli because of his age and the fact that he has just come back from a long-term injury, so they may not see him at his absolute best until next season.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
